Finding Christ through Secularism

God is everywhere.

Yep. I was an atheist for about 5 years (although I admit that I was miserable with my disbelief) after being raised non-denom protestant. If it weren't for my atheism I would have never began reading the writing of the early Christian Fathers.

My goal was to more effectively debate traditional Christians, but I found Orthodoxy instead.

All things are possible with God. He can use and transform anything in the secular world to reach someone. Whether they take heed is up to them..but God reaches to us in many more ways than we think.so yes, but one obviously ofcourse should not expect to find much after that "spark", if they remain outside of The Church(Holy Scripture)..Thank God for all his wonders and miracles!

Sure, why not? God made everything.

gzt said:

Sure, why not? God made everything.

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Absolutely. And to say no, we would have to put a limit on God which is simply not possible.

Of course! With God, all things are possible. He is everywhere. You can't limit the Holy Spirit and put Him in a box, y'know? He is at work in secular areas, in Hindu temples, mosques, etc. using whatever He can to bring people closer to Him.

Justin, the OP asked:

"How would orthodoxy view this idea?"

Please respect this. You no longer speak for orthodoxy.

An example would be the Barnes & Noble section of religion.

absolutely. God can use what He wants, when and how He wants to bring people to Him.

Quid said:

Do you think it is possible to get ones first "spark" of interest about God through a secular source?

How would orthodoxy view this idea?

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Yes. A popular book by St. Theophan the Recluse (who happens to be featured in my avatar ) entitled "The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to it" is based upon such a revelation to a certain young lady:

"Once, in the middle of a dance floor at some annual ball, a young lady had a sudden glimpse of the immortality of her soul; and as this vision flashed upon her inward eye, she was struck with the thought that all this swirling around the dance floor was utterly futile. Amazed and disturbed, she wrote the recluse: "Is this normal, or is it a morbid hindrance to a desire for a happy life in the world?" The answer to her question evoked a correspondedence which resulted in this volume."

He then goes on to teach her about the life that is truly worthwhile.

ortho_cat said:

Yes. A popular book by St. Theophan the Recluse (who happens to be featured in my avatar ) entitled "The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to it" is based upon such a revelation to a certain young lady:

"Once, in the middle of a dance floor at some annual ball, a young lady had a sudden glimpse of the immortality of her soul; and as this vision flashed upon her inward eye, she was struck with the thought that all this swirling around the dance floor was utterly futile. Amazed and disturbed, she wrote the recluse: "Is this normal, or is it a morbid hindrance to a desire for a happy life in the world?" The answer to her question evoked a correspondedence which resulted in this volume."

He then goes on to teach her about the life that is truly worthwhile.

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Cool. I didn't know this. I read Turning the Hear to God a while back (which I highly recommend by the way). I'm absolutely convinced that St. Theophan could be considered a true genius.

I actually read that book by St. Theophan.

My initial interest in God came from Nietzsche and Emil Cioran... I loved them so much but I could never managed, try as I might (and I tried so hard), to muster their capacity for despair.

Quid said:

Do you think it is possible to get ones first "spark" of interest about God through a secular source?

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Yep.

I was raised Roman Catholic, but was a closet Agnostic leaning on Atheism for almost two years. Sometime when I was about fifteen I bought Bob Marley's cd, "Legend", liked it and eventually wanted to know more about Bob Marley. I learned of his Rastafarianism which caught my interest for a brief time, then I learned of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawehedo Church. Even though my stepmom and dad were Orthodox at the time this was all going on, I was very closed to the Church, but in learning of Bob Marley, Rastafarianism and Ethiopian Orthodoxy God somehow helped me to be a little more open minded towards Christianity in general specifically Orthodoxy.

Brutal communist regimes who tried to eliminate all signs of Christianity were unsuccessful.

I heard the true story about a Cuban communist who was in boot camp and about to be sent to another country in Latin America to push for communist revolution. During guard duty, he saw a light in the distance and told another guard to cover him while he went to investigate. It was late at night and he discovered the light in an old abandoned church. Christ, the True Light, was waiting for him. The soldier sank to his knees and spent what seemed like hours conversing with Christ who filled his soul with joy. However, when he returned to his guard station, the soldier discovered that he had only been away for less than an hour.

His mother who had escaped to the USA had been praying that her son might find Christ.

Well, I first converted to Christianity (Protestantism--since that was all I'd really heard of at the time) from atheism after having a massive existential crisis, which was set off by reading L'Etranger and The Myth Of Sisyphus (both by Albert Camus, an atheist) at the same time during university.

Also, my catechism teacher uses the example of Wittgenstein. That guy was interesting...

Protoevangel said:

Justin, the OP asked:

"How would orthodoxy view this idea?"

Please respect this. You no longer speak for orthodoxy.

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My bad. I thought that was what the Church taught. It is what I have heard from my priest.